


Settlement

by Eggling



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: M/M, not super shippy but it is in there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:42:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22358917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eggling/pseuds/Eggling
Summary: A colony ship, a peace agreement, and coming to terms with feelings.
Relationships: Second Doctor/Jamie McCrimmon
Comments: 1
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> for [ettelwenailinon](https://ettelwenailinon.tumblr.com).
> 
> on [tumblr](https://the--highlanders.tumblr.com/post/190401022276/settlement-chapter-1-eggling-doctor-who).

“Quite fascinating.” Flitting between the screens that encircled the room, the Doctor poked and prodded at each of them, bringing up a dizzying array of diagrams and graphs and maps of the stars. “Quite fascinating indeed.”

Jamie, Ben, and Polly stood clustered in the centre of the room, watching him dart about increasingly frantically. “What’s fascinating?” Polly asked. “What does all this mean?”

“It means that this ship is – ah – on a rather interesting course,” the Doctor said breathlessly. Pausing before one of the screens, he dragged his hand over it, bringing the map in closer around a blinking spot of red light. “It’s heading for quite a lovely planet.” He stuck the tip of one finger in his mouth, then held it up into the air, as if testing the wind. “And should be arriving in just a few days, if I’m not mistaken.”

“But what _is_ this place?” Turning slowly on his heels, Ben stared up at the vaulted ceiling above them. “It’s like a cathedral made out of metal.”

“What _is_ it -” The Doctor stared at them incredulously. “Well, it’s a colony ship, of course. One of the earliest to leave Earth. Full of people just like you three, setting off to land on another world.” He beamed at them. “When they land, this ship will be turned into the centre of the colony. It’s rather beautiful, in a way. The first years of Earth’s galactic expansion were so full of hope and good intentions.” He rubbed his hands together thoughtfully, and the excitement in his expression fell away. “It’s just a shame that things couldn’t stay that way.”

Jamie opened his mouth to ask what he meant, but the Doctor was already halfway gone, gesturing for them to follow as he rushed out the door. Ben and Polly exchanged a look, shrugging at each other helplessly, and the three of them followed on behind the Doctor, struggling to keep up with his surprisingly brisk trot down the corridor.

“They ought to be waking people up soon,” he was calling over his shoulder. “I do hope we’ve landed on one of the colony ships from the second wave – they woke people up with music, they used to dance until they reached their new home -”

“I hope he doesn’t expect us to join in with that,” Ben said quietly, grinning at Jamie and Polly. “That time with the Macra was bad enough.”

Jamie scowled at him, half with mock-frustration but half with true annoyance. “I’ve told ye, I dinnae know what else I was supposed tae do.” He jerked his head towards the Doctor. “It’s no’ my fault he liked the idea so much.”

“We can’t join in, surely,” Polly pointed out. “They’ll know we’re not meant to be on board. What if they think we’re stowaways, or – or trying to hijack the spaceship, and they throw us off?”

“I’m sure it won’t come to that,” the Doctor said airily. “They’re probably very reasonable people, you know.” He drew to a halt at the end of the corridor, reaching up to place one hand against the label embossed on the door before him. “ _Cryosleep Quarters_. This must be where the colonists’ sleeping pods are.” He threw a lopsided grin at them over his shoulder. “Shall we?” Without waiting for an answer, he pushed open the door, bursting into the room with a flourish. But before Jamie could step in after him, his arms fell back to his sides, his whole body seeming to slump. “Jamie.” His voice was soft, but the tremor in it was still clearly audible. “Ben. Polly. Don’t come in.”

“Why not?” Ben craned his neck to see over the Doctor and Jamie’s shoulders. “What’s in there?”

Polly’s height had allowed her to see past them, and she turned away, her face pale. “You don’t want to know,” she said, her voice muffled by the hand she held over her mouth. “I wish I hadn’t looked.”

The Doctor was wandering further into the room, and Jamie pushed through the door after him. To his surprise, there was no blood, and he found he could force down the bile in his throat with relative ease. The cubicles carved into the walls were empty, and the floor was littered with the bodies of colonists, collapsed across each other. Their uniforms were pristine and undamaged, but their faces and hands were marred with bruises. With a start, Jamie realised that one was a child, a girl of only seven or eight, and he knelt down beside her, taking her hand.

“What did this?” he murmured. The Doctor simply shook his head, wordless with confusion. “Was it an accident?”

“I don’t know,” the Doctor said. “There’s – there’s no reason to believe this was intentional. No reason at all...” He spoke as if to convince himself rather than the others. His voice was perfectly steady now, and filled with the sort of anger that gave Jamie a deep, gut-wrenching urge to recoil from him in fright. “We ought to find out what happened here. If I’m wrong – if someone deliberately hurt these people...”

“But why?” Jamie gestured down to the girl whose hand he held. “She couldn’t have hurt anyone.” He pressed his hand over her heart as if to pass some of his own life into her, but snatched it away when he felt her chest rise and fall. “Doctor – she’s alive!”

“Yes, she is. They all are.”

“I thought ye meant they were dead!” Shuffling over to the next body, Jamie felt for a pulse, and let out a cry of surprise and excitement when he found it. “What happened to them?”

“They haven’t been brought out of cryosleep correctly.” The Doctor was turning in circles, taking in the whole scene over and over again as if searching for something he had missed. “But they ought to have been woken up by professionals. Unless -”

“Unless what?” The sound of a door banging shut made Jamie look up from the colonist he was examining, and he saw that the Doctor was already gone. Behind him, Ben and Polly were creeping tentatively into the room, and he wondered for a moment whether he ought to stay and reassure them. But he could hear the sound of more doors slamming open, and he found himself getting up to run after the Doctor, his limbs moving almost of their own accord.

The door that the Doctor had left through led to another corridor, this one shorter and darker. The plates on the doors were obscured in shadow, but a few were left ajar, casting triangles of light over the floor. He saw the same scene repeated in each of them – bodies strewn across the floor, every one of them bruised and battered. Another door was open at the end of the corridor, and the Doctor stood silhouetted there, gripping its frame as if to hold himself upright.

“We’re not saboteurs,” he was insisting. “We had no part in this, I promise you.”

“I’m the captain.” The second voice was that of a stranger, cold and commanding but edged with panic. “I know the face of every colonist on this ship, and I know you’re not authorised to be here.”

“Yes, well – I can explain all that quite easily -”

“I certainly hope so.”

The Doctor shifted ever so slightly, just enough for Jamie to see the woman standing before him. Her face was stern, carefully trained to keep her expression neutral, but the blaster she was pointing towards the Doctor shook in her hands. Her finger brushed back and forth against the trigger, and the thought that she might fire sent a sliver of ice down Jamie’s spine.

“If you’d just come to the data archives – I’m quite sure you’ll understand -”

“Pirates, then. I’ve dealt with your type before.” She readjusted her grip on the blaster, determination setting into her expression. Jamie bent down to hide himself behind the Doctor and began to creep forward again, his muscles tensed in anticipation. “Tell me why you attacked harmless civilians and I’ll ensure you get a fair trial.”

“We did _not_ attack them -”

“If you refuse to cooperate, I’m authorised to execute you.”

“You must believe me -”

“You leave me no choice -”

“Doctor!” Jamie sprang forward, knocking the Doctor out of the way and sending him sprawling to the floor. The sudden motion made the captain whirl around towards him, her eyes flashing and her hand tightening on the blaster until her finger closed on the trigger. A flash of light shot out of the barrel, and Jamie watched it fly towards him almost in slow motion before it struck him in the shoulder.

The impact felt as if a white-hot knife had been plunged into him, and he could do nothing but scream with pain as he crumpled to the floor. His eyes were swimming with tears, but he could just make out the Doctor scrambling over to him, shouting at the captain and speaking more softly to him in turns. The captain was shouting back, saying something about not meaning to fire, but her words were jumbled and confused, their meaning slipping further and further away the more Jamie tried to focus in on them. He reached up towards the Doctor with his good arm, trying to grab onto him and feel something solid beneath his fingers – but the world was going dark, the Doctor fading away with it, and his whole body felt impossibly heavy. A vague idea that falling asleep was dangerous drifted through his mind, and he thrashed from side to side, staring out at nothing in an effort to keep his eyes open. But the pain was still searing through him, overtaking his mind, and the darkness seemed comforting, almost peaceful.

He let go of himself, closing his eyes to drift away into nothingness.


	2. Chapter 2

The world beyond his closed eyes was bright and blurry, its array of dizzying lights making him curl inwards and draw the blanket over himself. His head was pounding, and his shoulder still ached, though the pain was not as piercing as he remembered it. He struggled to remember what had happened to him, or where he was, or even his own name, but the more desperately he tried to clutch at the memories, the faster they seemed to drift away.

“Jamie.” The muffled sound of a voice made some awareness of himself flood back into his mind. They were repeating his name with increasing impatience, and he scowled, pressing the blanket over his ears. The synthetic material hissed as it rubbed against itself, and the feel of it set his teeth on edge, but the idea of leaving the safety of darkness pained him more. “You must be awake by now.”

Daring to open his eyes a crack, he peered up to see that someone was sitting by his bedside. “Doctor?” he mumbled blearily. But when he blinked into focus, he recognised the captain, and felt a rush of disappointment. He stared at her, wondering distantly if she was capable of stopping him from leaving. She seemed more certain of herself than she had before, though her carefully neutral expression was not entirely blank and unworried. Her tailored uniform was a crisp white against her dark skin, but it was rumpled as if she had been running, and her hair was falling out of its once-tight bun. But her hands were folded neatly in her lap, perfectly steady, and she projected a feeling of being completely in control.

“You’re still recovering from treatment,” she was saying. “The medics’ report was quite remarkable. It was as if you’ve never been exposed to any sort of healing vessel before.”

Jamie shook his head, rubbing his hand over his face wearily. “I dinnae know what one of them is.”

“What’s your name?”

He blinked at her. “Ye said my name. Before.”

“Your full name.”

“Oh. James Robert McCrimmon.”

“Thank you. I’ll have to check our records. Tell me, why did you board the ship?”

He folded his arms. “Where’s the Doctor?”

“He’s safe. And your two friends.”

“Where are they?”

“They’re in custody for questioning.”

“Questioning?” Scrambling to throw the blanket away, Jamie tumbled out of bed and onto the floor. He landed on his stomach, and the impact knocked the breath out of him, but he quickly pushed himself to his feet. “Where is he?”

“I’m quite happy to take you to him.” The captain gestured towards the bed, her smile infuriatingly calm. “After you’ve answered a few questions yourself.”

“I’ll no’ say anything until I’ve seen him. I -” His legs were shaking, but he managed to turn his back towards the door, and clutched at the frame hard enough to turn his knuckles white. “What’ve ye done with him?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to establish exactly what you were doing on board my ship.”

“I’ve got tae see him – I’ve got tae -” Jamie’s head was spinning, and he sat down heavily on the floor, still grasping at the wall in vain hope of finding some sort of purchase.

“You won’t get far,” the captain said. “And certainly not past the guards in the security quadrant. It’ll take another fifteen minutes or so for you to recover completely, and it’s far better for you to stay here under medical supervision.”

“I don’t want your medical supervision!” Jamie exclaimed. “I want tae see the Doctor.” His hand collided with the door handle, and he dragged himself upright to stagger out into the corridor. “I’m going tae find him, an’ I’m not gonnae let ye stop me.”

His strength was rapidly returning, and he found himself able to hobble along in a clumsy run. The captain was shouting after him, ordering him to stop and calling for reinforcements, but he ignored her, skidding around a corner at random and sprinting off again. He was still numb and clumsy, tripping over himself, but he pressed on, pushing his hands against the wall to steady himself. Only after a few twists and turns did the enormity of the ship begin to dawn on him. The corridors he had been running through were brightly lit, walled with wood panels rather than metal, a stark contrast to the area they had landed in. He could be miles away from the safety of the TARDIS, and faced with pursuers who knew their way around much better than he did. Skidding to a halt at a crossroads, he stared down each of the corridors in turn. They were identical, empty of any signs that might have helped him find his way, and he shook his head, wondering if staying in the medical bay might have been the easiest way of finding the Doctor after all.

“Jamie!” The sound of a familiar voice made him pause, and he looked up to see the Doctor trotting down the corridor towards him, as impossible and as welcome as water in the desert. “Jamie – oh, thank goodness you’re alright, they wouldn’t tell us anything – are you too badly hurt? Where have you been? What have they been doing to you?”

The strength that Jamie had mustered was draining out of his body at the sight of the Doctor, and the barrage of questions overwhelmed his sluggish mind. All he could do was give into the trembling in his legs, sinking down to sit on the floor. The Doctor rushed over to him, kneeling beside him, and Jamie flung himself into his arms, clinging onto him as if for dear life.

“Oh, my word.” The Doctor let out a soft chuckle of surprise, patting his back comfortingly, if a little awkwardly. “It’s quite alright now.”

“She was gonnae -” Something about the sight of the Doctor in front of him cleared Jamie’s mind, reminding him of what had happened, and he clutched at the Doctor with fresh desperation. “She was gonnae shoot ye. What would’ve happened if I hadn’t been there? What would I – what would we do without ye?”

“Shh.” The Doctor smoothed his hair away from his eyes. “I had everything quite under control.”

“Ye don’t _know_ that.”

“Jamie.” The firmness of the Doctor’s voice made him fall quiet. “It’s quite alright. Now, can you walk?”

“A- aye.” The Doctor stood up, taking Jamie’s hands and dragging him upright. He staggered a little, and wrapped his arms around the Doctor to hold himself steady. “Aye, I think so.”

“Good. I’m afraid we have a rather more pressing matter to attend to.”

“What matter?”

“I’ll show you.” The Doctor tapped him on the shoulder. “Come along.” He hurried away, and Jamie was left to jog along in his wake, wondering quite how he knew where he was going. After a few minutes, he emerged into a large room that Jamie could only assume was some sort of dining hall. It was filled with an elaborate array of tables and chairs and potted plants, and one wall was taken up entirely with an enormous window facing out towards the stars. Ben and Polly stood close to the glass, gazing out in wonder. The whole scene was one of a picturesque serenity so complete that Jamie wondered what the Doctor’s problem could possibly be. But when he turned, he saw that concern was written across the Doctor’s face, and his eyes were fixed on something in the distance.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“There’s another spaceship out there,” the Doctor explained. “Not too far away from this one, and moving along in time with it. They must be the ones who attacked the colonists.”

Before he could continue, the doors behind them burst open, revealing the captain and a group of guards. “You’ve got some explaining to do, Doctor,” she said. “You’ve pulled quite the escape attempt for four innocents.”

“Well, you’ve come to the right place.” The Doctor gestured for her to come closer. She hesitated for a moment, frowning at him, then stepped towards the window, though her hand never left the blaster hanging from her belt. “I’ve found the hijackers you were looking for, and it certainly isn’t us.” He pointed to something, and Jamie followed the line of his finger to see a thin wire stretching from the colony ship out into space. “And worst of all, they’ve attached an anchor to your ship. You can’t get away.”

“That won’t be a problem. This ship is outfitted with the latest defences.” The captain gestured for one of the guards to join her. “Take a message to the control centre. Tell them to focus the short-range laser cannons starboard, and wait for my signal to fire.”

The Doctor’s eyes flashed with alarm, and he hurried over, stepping between the captain and the guard. “You can’t fire on them without making contact first,” he exclaimed. “You said you’d dealt with pirates before, and if you dealt with them like this – well, I can’t say I think much of the captains of Earth’s colonies anymore.”

Waving away the guard, the captain wheeled around to face the Doctor. “I was lying,” she snapped. “This is my first colony ship. But I won’t stand by and watch it be picked clean by those _parasites_ out there.”

“What’s your name?” The Doctor’s voice was gentler, softer, but the captain’s eyes were still full of steel.

“Khatri. Captain Jasmine Khatri.”

“Now, Jasmine – I may call you Jasmine, mayn’t I?” Skipping around her and back to the window, the Doctor frowned out towards the other ship. “I doubt what happened here was deliberate. Have any of your supplies been taken?” She shook her head. “And if somebody wanted to hurt your colonists, there are far more efficient ways of doing so than bringing them out of cryosleep. If I could just go over there and talk to them – if you could just give me a little more time -”

Jasmine’s arms were still crossed, but she was nodding slowly. “Half an hour.”

“Two hours.”

“An hour. And no more.”

“Very well.” The Doctor tapped his fingers together. “Off to the airlocks, I suppose.”

He made as if to leave, but Jasmine blocked his way, and he looked up at her nervously. “But no longer than an hour. If I haven’t heard from you by then, I’ll give the order to fire on the ship.”


	3. Chapter 3

“It’s quite simple.” The Doctor’s smile was confident, but his fingers fumbled with the seals on his spacesuit. “All I have to do is pull myself over to the other spaceship and find out what they want with us. I’m sure they’ll be quite willing to talk.”

“It doesn’t sound so simple to me,” Ben interrupted. “You don’t know what they’ll do to you if they find you messing around outside their ship. What if they shoot you before you even make it across?”

“Well, we’ll just have to take that risk.” Taking the helmet from Polly, the Doctor fastened it onto the suit. His lips were moving, but no sound emerged, and Jasmine reached over to press one of the buttons on the suit’s chest panel. “Ah! Thank you.” His voice rattled out from the radio in Jamie’s hand, tinny and distant.

“Can’t we just -” Jamie gestured vaguely. “Cut the wire and leave? Ye said the passengers were startin’ tae wake up. Everything’ll be back to normal soon.”

“We can’t be entirely sure what else they might have done. Besides, they might be in some sort of trouble themselves.” The Doctor ushered them backwards hurriedly. “It should only be a short trip. I’ll be back before you know it.”

He slammed his hand against a button on the wall, and a glass door slid open, setting off a blaring alarm. Jamie flinched, covering his ears with his hands, but for all his discomfort he found he could not take his eyes from the Doctor as the door closed. Jasmine gave a thumbs-up to a technician in the central booth, and a moment later the staging room was filled with a great rushing sound as the air was sucked out of the airlock and into the pipes that sprouted out from it. There was a long, silent moment in which the Doctor floated there, caught in place – then the second door opened, and he pushed himself outside and out of view.

Jamie bolted away, shoving past the staging room’s doors and all but flinging himself around the corner and into the closest observation room. The outer wall was given over to a series of long, thin windows, and he paced before them, searching for any glimpse of the Doctor. He counted four lengths of the room before he saw a figure in a spacesuit begin to dip into view, and recognised the Doctor climbing his way along the ship.

Raising the radio to his mouth with one unsteady hand, he pressed the green button on the top, as one of the technicians had shown him. “What took ye so long?”

“Just a few teething problems with moving in the suit. It’s a little primitive, but I’m quite alright now.” The sound of the Doctor’s voice was cracklier now than it had been before, as if muffled by the ship’s thick walls. Jamie pressed the radio to his chest anyway, clutching it to himself as if it were something precious. “I can see the wire from here.”

He was already drifting past the last window, and Jamie hurried out of the room to stand in the doorway of the next. The Doctor seemed to be pulling himself along faster and faster, and he followed him along through each of the observation rooms, watching him in silence. Only when he had come to the end of the corridor did the Doctor pause, waving to Jamie and giving him a reassuring smile. Jamie pressed the radio’s button, trying to muster up something, anything to say, but he had no words to express the tightness in his chest, and he released the button in silence. The Doctor gave one last cheerful wave, then pushed himself off the side of the ship. He seemed to hang in place for a moment, and Jamie was sure he would miss the wire and go careening off into space, lost to the endless void. But the Doctor’s hands caught securely around the wire, and he was soon off, dragging himself further away from the ship and out into the darkness.

The door creaked open behind him, and Ben and Polly slipped in, their quiet footsteps revealing their own nervousness. “He’ll be alright, won’t he?” Polly asked softly.

“I hope so.” Jamie shook his head. “I should’ve gone with him. Ye know how he gets when he’s on his own. An’ what if he doesnae come back in time, an’ the captain -” He turned to frown at them. “Where _is_ Jasmine?”

“She’s gone to check on the ship’s engines,” Ben said. “Someone told her they’d been messed with.”

Jamie stepped up to the window, pressing his hand against the glass. It seemed so fragile, little more than a thin skin between himself and the vastness of space. “I dinnae want tae just… sit here an’ do nothing.” He snapped his fingers, turning back to Ben and Polly. “There was another spacesuit. They said they have two people out checkin’ the ship.”

Ben and Polly exchanged a nervous glance. “Better not, mate,” Ben said. “None of us would know what to do out there.”

“And I’m not sure the Doctor wants us to risk our lives,” Polly added. “Anyway, aren’t you still recovering?”

“I’m better now. The Doctor said the effects of whatever it was they used on me would be gone by now.”

“Ri-ight.” She nodded towards the radio in Jamie’s hands. “I suppose you could always ask him what we should be doing.”

Glancing back at the window, Jamie held the radio to his mouth again. “Doctor? Doctor, are ye there?” He was met with nothing but the distant buzzing of static, and cursed, fighting the impulse to throw the radio away in disgust.

“Out of range, I ‘spose,” Ben murmured. “They did say it was only designed for people moving around the outside of the ship.”

“Aye, well, that settles it.” Tossing the radio to Ben, Jamie strode out of the room and along the corridor. Ben and Polly hurried after him, all but tripping over each other as they tried to pull him away. “I’m goin’ after him.”

“It’s too dangerous!” Polly protested. The technician looked up in surprise as they entered the staging room, and hesitated for a moment when Jamie gestured for her to join them. She dithered for a moment, as if struggling with the thought of leaving her desk, but to Jamie’s relief she eventually stood up and edged her way towards them.

“Can ye help me put the spacesuit on?” His words came out softly, as if he could hide his plan from Ben and Polly and stop their protests even with them standing beside him. The technician nodded, hurrying away to fetch the suit, and Jamie quickly found himself being encased in a mass of padding and plastic. The thought of it made his skin crawl with the urge to tear the suit away, and Ben and Polly’s worried stares seemed to drill straight through him, but he gritted his teeth and forced himself to remain still, fixing his mind on the Doctor.

“Move slowly,” the technician was saying. “Make sure you’re holding onto something at all times. If you start to float away from the ship, you won’t be able to stop yourself.”

“Aye, aye, I know. I was there when ye told the Doctor all this.” The technician held the helmet out over his head, and he shied away from it before forcing himself to stand still and let her fit it on. When she stepped back to return to her post, he waddled over to the airlock door and hovered his hand over the panel of buttons on the wall, trying to remember which one the Doctor had pressed before settling on the largest. To his relief the door swung open, and he stepped inside, turning around to give Ben and Polly a grin. “I’ll be fine.”

Polly was mouthing something, but whatever she said was drowned out by the great roaring of machinery as the air began to be sucked out of the room. He found himself slowly lifting off the floor, and struggled to grab a hold of the bars on the wall, though he knew the room was sealed. Slowly, clumsily, he manoeuvred his way around to face the exterior door just as it opened, and he began to pull himself outside. Every movement that he made seemed to have an exaggerated reaction, pushing him further along than he expected, and every fumble and misstep filled him with terror. The emptiness of space seemed less beautiful and more terrifying from the outside of the ship, somehow darker and colder. He followed the handholds that he thought the Doctor would have used, letting the slight magnetism in his gloves guide him, growing a little more confident as he went. The suit was stiff and oversized, and more than once he was left grappling with a surface that he had thought would be easy to grasp, but the wire attached to the ship was slowly growing nearer, and in the distance he could see the Doctor inching his way along it.

He found that it was relatively simple to catch hold of the wire, and easier to cling to it than the spaceship. It was thin enough that his gloved hands could wrap around it tightly, and he moved along it like some strange monkey swinging from a branch. The Doctor looked as if he were halfway to the other ship, and he tried to drag himself along faster, pushing aside the technician’s safety briefing to fall into a rhythmic motion. The distance between himself and the Doctor was closing more rapidly now, and he cast aside the last of his cautiousness, desperate to reach the Doctor. He was barely a few metres away when he saw the Doctor pause, examining the movement of the wire before turning around.

“Jamie!” he exclaimed. His voice screeched out of the speakers inside Jamie’s helmet, and Jamie stopped his swinging, wincing at the noise. “You’re supposed to be on the ship!”

“I came tae help ye!” Jamie half-shouted in return. “I couldnae just let ye walk in there on your own.”

“It’s too dangerous!”

“I’ve come this far, haven’t I?”

“Yes, and you’re going to turn around and head back to the ship!”

“I’m coming with you!” Jamie reached out to swing closer, but his hand slipped away from the wire, and he fell backwards, grasping at nothing. He glanced around himself, taking in the sheer emptiness beneath him, and his stomach churned at the sight. When he looked back up at the Doctor, he was sure the colour had drained from his face, and he expected the Doctor to burst into some righteous lecture about how he should have stayed on the ship. But instead the Doctor held out his hand to pull him back up, the magnets in their gloves clamping together and holding them steady.

“Yes, I suppose you are,” he said, his voice equally weary and fond. “I should have known better than to try and make you stay behind.”

Jamie grinned at him. “Ye didnae think I’d want tae miss out on this, did ye?”

The Doctor tilted his head forwards, bumping their helmets together just above the visors. His smile was soft, his face filled with an odd sort of tenderness that Jamie had not seen before, and the sight of it filled his chest with an almost-unpleasant jitteriness. “Of course not.”

They pulled their hands apart with a little difficulty to drag themselves on in silence. Jamie kept his eyes carefully fixed on the ship before them, studying it as they grew nearer. The shape of it was harsh, covered in spikes and sharp angles, but its metal cladding was rusted and dented in places, and light shone cheerfully from all of its windows. The colony ship still dwarfed it, and he wondered how the captain could consider such a small vessel a threat.

Pushing himself up to a small doorway, the Doctor banged his fist against the side of the ship. There was a long pause, and Jamie wondered whether the ship’s occupants had heard, or whether they would have to return to the colony ship in defeat. But the door slid open, and the Doctor gave thumbs-up to a small white box on the outside of the ship before pulling himself inside. Jamie followed him, heaving the door shut behind him just as air started to rush into the small cubicle. He quickly found himself standing on the ground again, wobbling a little as he struggled to regain his balance.

The door before them swung open, and the Doctor stepped out, pulling his helmet off. He came to a halt only a metre or two away, his helmet falling to the floor with a clatter. Jamie hurried out after him, but found himself face-to-face with a creature that towered over him. They resembled some sort of mushroom more than anything, with a great flap of skin sitting over a stocky body, their stubby arms and legs jammed on as if in an afterthought. Their face was contorted into a scowl, and they picked the Doctor and Jamie up by the backs of their spacesuits with surprising strength.

“We’re -” The creature puffed out their words with every step. “We’re – not – going – to – hand – ourselves – over – to – the – police!”

Struggling to remove his own helmet, Jamie cast a weary look towards the Doctor. “Remind me why I thought comin’ with ye would be a good idea?”


	4. Chapter 4

“Well.” The storage room’s door slammed shut, and Jamie sat down heavily on a nearby crate, shaking his head. “That went well.”

The Doctor huffed at him. “It’s hardly my fault that they thought we were some sort of police.” There was a rustling sound, as if he had folded his arms. “I suppose I rather overestimated their intelligence.”

The shape of him was barely visible through the darkness, but his eyes were filled with an unnatural shine, and Jamie found that he could not hold the Doctor’s gaze. “Ye didnae seem surprised, when ye saw them. Have ye met somethin’ like them before?”

“Oh, a while ago now. And on their home planet, under quite different circumstances. The difference would be – well, imagine that they were human pirates. They wouldn’t be at all like the colonists on the ship.”

“They’d be more like the colonists than this lot,” Jamie retorted. “Not that the colonists are very friendly.” He sighed. “I wonder how long we’ve got left.”

“Quite enough time, I should imagine.”

“I hope so. An’ here we are, locked up by mushrooms that’ve grown legs.”

“Well – one mustn’t judge.”

“I’m no’ judgin’, I’m just saying. An’ that wasn’t the point of me askin’ about them.”

“Go on then.”

“I just think -” Jamie sighed, stretching out his legs and leaning back against the wall. He kept silent for a long moment, struggling to gather his thoughts, but the weight of the Doctor’s gaze made him start talking again. “You’re always droppin’ hints about your past, or sayin’ you’ve met people before, but ye never say anything. No’ about the important things.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Why not?”

Another minute of silence stretched out between them, and Jamie found that the great chasm of it made his heart beat more frantically than it had at the strange closeness between them before they had boarded the ship. When at last the Doctor spoke, he had sunk so deep into his own thoughts that the sound of another voice startled him. “Why is it so important to you?”

The question took Jamie aback, and he let out a surprised scoff of laughter. “Why is it so – I’m travellin’ with ye, an’ I hardly know ye. Isn’t that enough?”

“Most people I’ve travelled with don’t ask.”

“See, there ye go again, ye -” Jamie shook his head. “Maybe I’m no’ like other people you’ve travelled with.”

“You know the important things about me.”

“Are ye so ashamed of your past that ye won’t even talk about it?”

“Of course not.”

The reluctance in his voice made Jamie want to tear his hair out in frustration. “We’re locked in a cell together, an’ you’re still trying tae run away from me.”

“Aren’t I allowed to have secrets?”

“Aye, of course ye are. I just wish I knew why ye kept them, that’s all.”

The twin pinpricks of light that marked the Doctor’s eyes flashed out of view. “Last time I met these creatures, I was travelling with some friends. Long before I met you. Ian and Barbara and -” His voice caught a little, so softly that Jamie almost missed it. “Susan. They travelled with me for a while. I don’t like to talk about it because – well, that would mean I’d miss them.”

Jamie was quiet for a long time, mulling over his words, taking them to pieces and putting them back together again. He had never truly expected that the Doctor would give him an honest reply, and now he felt lost, swamped with knowledge and with no idea what to do with it. “Is that what’ll happen tae us? Ben and Polly an’ I? You’ll lose us, an’ then ye won’t talk about us, until one day ye forget us?”

“No.” The Doctor’s voice was sharp, cutting through his sudden worry. “I don’t forget anybody I travel with. And I wouldn’t forget you.”

“What’s special about me?”

He could almost hear the Doctor’s wry smile in his voice. “Maybe you’re not like most people I’ve travelled with.”

“Aye, well.” Jamie floundered around for something, anything to say. “Good.” He fell silent again, still twisting and turning the Doctor’s words around in his mind. “Ye still havenae said where ye come from. Or what – _who_ ye are.”

“No, I haven’t.” Jamie’s eyes had adjusted enough to the darkness for him to see the Doctor shifting up to sit cross-legged on the crate. “That’s one secret I’ll keep, I’m afraid.”

“Why?”

The Doctor snorted softly. “If I’m entirely honest with you, it isn’t particularly interesting.”

“It’s interestin’ tae me.”

“I’d really rather not talk about it.”

There was a sudden seriousness in the Doctor’s voice that told Jamie it would be unwise to push any further. “Aye, alright.”

The Doctor’s reply was so quiet he almost missed it. “Thank you.”

“What are we gonnae do about this lot, then?” Jamie jerked his thumb in the vague direction of the door. Two points of light followed the movement keenly, as if the Doctor could see perfectly clearly through the darkness, and Jamie bit back his frustration at how little he had managed to learn. “I don’t suppose ye know anything about them that might help?”

“Well, they are rather cowardly – though they pretend not to be. I suspect this will have to be an old-fashioned hijacking, just to get their attention.”

Jamie stared at the outline of him, as if searching for some proof that he was joking. “We’re gonnae steal their ship?”

“Something of the sort, yes.”

“Ye can’t be serious.” Even as he spoke, the Doctor stood up, wandering casually over to the other side of the room to lean against the door. “What are ye even gonnae do when ye get out? Ye can’t take them all on, there’s four of them and only two of us. An’ ye felt how strong they were.”

“I did say they were cowardly.” The Doctor smiled at him, rummaging for something in his pocket. His arm vanished up to an almost comical depth before he gave a small cry of delight. Jamie half-expected him to produce a crowbar and start levering the door open, but instead he pulled out a small object that Jamie did not recognise.

“Control scrambler,” the Doctor explained with a grin. “All I have to do is press a few of these buttons and it’ll alter the signals going from the ship’s computer to its guidance system.” Jamie got up to join him, and the Doctor tossed him the object. When he ran his finger over it, he found that the surface was covered in bumps. “Press any you like. _Technically_ this sort of thing is illegal in this time period, but I – ah – relieved that fifty-second century general of it last week, and it was entirely legal there, so I doubt anyone would have grounds for prosecution.”

“Except for the fact that ye stole it.”

“Oh, hush, you. Hurry up and press the button.”

Shrugging, Jamie pressed his thumb down over the whole panel of buttons. For a brief moment, everything was still – then the ship began to roll over, sending them crashing into the wall. The Doctor made a grab for Jamie’s arm, and they tumbled backwards together, falling in a tangled heap amongst the rattling crates.

“I didn’t tell you to press that many buttons!”

“Ye told me tae press whatever ones I liked!”


	5. Chapter 5

Light spilled into the room – first a sliver, then a cascade of it as the door was thrown open. Crying out in shock, Jamie squeezed his eyes shut against the sudden brightness. He struggled to squint through his tears until an enormous shape stepped into the doorway, plunging them into darkness again.

“What did you do?” The voice that echoed through the room sounded as if it would have been deep enough to rattle the floors if the spaceship had not already been tossing and turning. “It must have been one of you.”

The Doctor’s hand slipped into Jamie’s, and Jamie clutched at him in return, biting his lip to stop himself from smiling. But to his disappointment, the Doctor’s fingers quickly found the control scrambler, and he pulled away, leaving Jamie’s hand to close on empty air. He winked at Jamie, then slipped the gadget into his pocket. “We’re not to blame for your bad driving.”

“None of us were driving.”

The perfect innocence of the Doctor’s expression almost made Jamie burst into laughter, and he struggled to keep his own face blank. “Then I suggest you check the machine for a mechanical fault.” His words seemed to agitate the creature, and they shuffled awkwardly on the spot, making a grab for a ridge in the wall to steady themselves.

“I don’t suppose...” Had their voice been more human, Jamie was sure it would have been trembling with nervousness. “I don’t suppose either of you would be a mechanic?”

A broad smile broke across the Doctor’s face, and Jamie choked back laughter yet again, realising what his plan was. “I dabble every so often. But I’d be quite happy to take a look.”

“Oh – oh, yes, that would be -” The creature paused, letting out a deep rumbling noise and straightening up. They produced a strange, serrated knife that looked as if it were carved out of wood, brandishing it towards the Doctor a little half-heartedly. “Stay in front of me, now, and don’t try anything!”

The Doctor got to his feet unsteadily, putting his hands in the air and giving the creature a placid smile. “Don’t worry. I don’t like this rattling around any more than you do.” Jamie copied him, grinning nervously at the creature as he wobbled past them.

They were ushered through into a cramped corridor, its walls crammed with alcoves for beds that seemed much too small for the creature that was guiding them. The storage boxes around the beds seemed full, but the pillows were gone, and the sheets had been stripped away. Jamie bent over to examine one more closely, but the ship pitched gain, and he was thrown sideways. The creature’s knife prodded him in the back, and he stumbled onwards, wincing and trying to ignore the churning in his stomach from the ship’s constant rocking.

The Doctor had darted ahead of them into the control room to stand before the panel of buttons and levers and hold up the control scrambler. Another three of the creatures sat around him, strapped onto almost comically undersized stools and looking as queasy as Jamie felt. “If you’re pirates, you ought to know what this is.”

“No,” the largest creature piped up. “What is it?”

“It’s -” The Doctor sighed. “It’s a control scrambler.”

“What’s that, then?”

“This is what’s made you lose control of the ship.” A murmur of realisation rippled through the creatures. “I can put things back to normal, but only if you lock yourselves in the storage room.”

The creatures exchanged dubious glances. “Alright,” the smallest one said at last. Jamie wondered whether they were naturally paler than the others, or whether the ship’s motion had drained the colour from them. “We won’t give you any trouble.”

To Jamie’s astonishment, one by one they unbuckled themselves, got to their feet, and waddled unsteadily out of the room. The Doctor watched them go with satisfaction. “Look after them, will you, Jamie?”

“Aye.” Jamie made as if to go after them, then paused, leaning back towards the Doctor. “Ye will stop it moving soon, won’t ye?”

The Doctor gestured towards one of the screens in front of him. “As soon as I see that the door is closed.”

Nodding, Jamie hurried after the creatures, flapping his hands at them in an effort to get them to move faster. They bumbled along awkwardly through the narrow corridor, bumping the floppy caps that grew above their faces against the walls and ceiling. All the while the ship continued to fling itself around, and Jamie found himself shoved from side to side, banging against the sharp edges of the corridor hard enough to leave bruises. It seemed to take hours for the creatures to file into the storage room, and when at last they were all inside, Jamie threw the door shut behind him, leaning against it and gasping for breath as the ship grew still.

“That’s better,” he wheezed. The creatures were already making themselves comfortable on the crates scattered around the room, looking entirely unworried about the whole business. Jamie dragged a smaller box over to sit facing them. “So what’s your names?”

To his bemusement, each of the creatures pointed to their neighbour.

“Xey’re Alvasivspar -”

“They’re Yamyutar -”

“She’s Klejimnar -”

“Zi’re Amnarivar.”

“A- aye.” Jamie blinked at them, struggling to take it all in. “I dinnae suppose ye have nicknames, or somethin’?”

They broke into wide grins, baring needle-sharp teeth.

“Alva -”

“Yam -”

“Klej -”

“Amna.”

“Right then. I’m Jamie.” The mention of his name set them off into an excited chatter. “Listen – listen. Ye seem reasonable enough. Does anyone want tae tell me what you’re doin’ here?” They fell silent immediately, each glancing at the others awkwardly. “Is this your ship? ‘Cause ye dinnae really seem like pirates, but I don’t think ye fit in it.”

“We found it,” Klej said happily. “Our uncle owns a ship-park at the Thysimillar trade docks.”

“So ye stole it,” Jamie corrected her. “What for?”

Yam shrugged. “Fun?”

“We ran out of fuel,” Alva explained. “But there was this ship nearby, and we thought -”

“Ye thought ye could borrow some of theirs,” Jamie finished. “But what about all the people? Why did ye hurt them?” Guilt flickered across their faces, and they fell silent. “They’re recoverin’, if that’s what you’re worried about. But it’d be better for everyone if ye told me why.”

“Are you the police?” Klej asked, her voice very small.

“Not the police, an’ we’re not gonnae turn ye over tae anyone. But I think ye owe the people on the colony ship an explanation.”

“We couldn’t figure out how to open the fuel tank. “Amna’s voice was even quieter than Klej’s. “We tried to wake someone up to help us, but we couldn’t work the machinery.”

“Why did ye wake up so many of them?”

“Yam panicked.”

An idea was slowly forming in Jamie’s mind. “How old are ye four?”

“One hundred and eight,” came the cheerful answer.

“How old’s your uncle?”

“Two thousand, four hundred and eleven.”

“So you’re a bunch of kids.” They nodded. “Aye, I see. Listen, I’m gonnae go an’ see how the Doctor’s doin’. I won’t be long. But I’ll make sure he knows what’s happenin’. Nothing’s gonnae happen to ye, I promise.” To his relief, they made no attempt to push past him when he opened the door, sitting quietly in place and looking as contrite as any scolded human child. “I won’t be long, alright?”

He waited to hear their chorus of “alright” before rushing away, running down the corridor towards the control room. When he turned the corner, he saw the Doctor crouched over a panel of screens, frowning at them and occasionally thumping on the sides. “Hey, Doctor?”

“Yes, Jamie, what is it?” The Doctor’s distracted murmur told Jamie he was still engrossed in the mess of squiggles and lines before him. “Oh, you -” He whacked at the side of the panel again, but it seemed to have no effect.

“They’re just kids,” Jamie said breathlessly. “They’re just kids, they stole the ship an’ they got themselves into a wee bit of trouble but they didnae mean tae hurt anyone -” The explanation tumbled messily out of him, and he paused to collect himself. “Ye cannae let the captain do anythin’ to them,” he finished. “I promised them we’d look after them.”

“Mm.”

“ _Doctor_.”

“Did they say where they’re from?”

“Somewhere called…” Jamie scrunched up his face in thought. “Bysimil-somethin’.”

“Thysimillar!” Snapping his fingers, the Doctor began tapping at the screens with renewed vigour. “Not their home planet, but there’s quite a few of them there. That would explain why the ship’s mainframe is in Cargyx rather than their own language – or Thysimillarian, for that matter.”

“What are ye tryin’ tae do?” Jamie edged closer to the control panel, resting his chin on the Doctor’s shoulder to see over him. “Just looks like nonsense tae me.”

“It is,” the Doctor said, his voice full of despair. “That’s the point. Cargyx security systems are notoriously difficult to get around. I suppose that’s why they stopped here.”

“Aye, but ye could fix it, surely?”

“I doubt it. Not without setting the ship to self-destruct. No, the only thing for it would be to tow the ship back.”

“An’ what about this lot? They were worried about the police.”

“We’d have to convince the captain not to press charges. Nothing to be done about the people they stole the ship from, but I suspect they’ll manage. Thysimillar is famous for its excellent lawyers.”

“What about their uncle? Won’t he be mad about them runnin’ off?”

“Oh, I shouldn’t worry about that. Hijacking is a traditional pastime for Thysimillarian children.”

“ _Oh_.”

“Now, the thing to do is to launch one of the escape pods and pilot it back to the colony ship.” The Doctor tapped at one of the screens, but it was quickly obscured by a flashing orange cross, and he grumbled to himself. “If I can get this ship to cooperate in the fifteen minutes we have left.”

Jamie grinned, trying to ignore the pounding of his heart. “I’m no’ holding out much hope. Ye cannae even do that with the TARDIS!”

“Hush, you.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Hey.” Jamie nudged at the Doctor. “We must be close enough by now.”

“Oh!” Stepping away from the pod’s controls, the Doctor fumbled in his pocket, producing a sweet wrapper, a few crumpled pieces of paper, and eventually the colony ship’s radio. “Yes, the light’s flashing. Oh – take over the controls, won’t you, Jamie?” Jamie studied the levers in front of him for a moment, then shrugged and sat down on the pilot’s stool. “Thank you. Now -” Leaning against one of the pod’s windows, the Doctor held the radio up to his mouth and pressed the button on top. “Ben? Polly? This is the Doctor speaking.”

There was a moment of silence, then Polly’s voice came crackling through the speaker. “Doctor! It’s almost been an hour, I thought you’d never be back in time!”

“We’re quite alright. Can you get the captain to stop them destroying the other ship?”

“I – I’ll try. Is Jamie there too?”

Grinning, Jamie leant over so the Doctor could hold the radio out to him. “Aye, I’m here. We’re bringin’ over a few friends for ye.”

“Where are you?” Polly asked. “We can’t see anyone coming down the wire.”

“The ship’s radars should be picking up a small object approaching docking bay -” The Doctor ducked down to peer out the window. “Docking bay D, by the looks of it. Can you ask the captain to open it up for us?” A scuffling sound echoed out of the radio, interspersed with cries of protest from Polly, and the Doctor frowned over at Jamie.

“Doctor.” It was the captain’s voice, laced with warning. “What are you bringing us?”

“Oh, just some friends. They’re in a spot of bother, and I thought you might like to tow their ship for them.”

“Are they the pirates who vandalised our ship and injured our passengers?”

“It was an accident,” Klej exclaimed. “Our uncle will pay for any damage.”

“I will not harbour criminals, Doctor.”

“But -”

“I will open the docking bay for you. But if your _friends_ aren’t under restraint when they board my ship, you’ll all be escorted to the security wing. Think carefully about whose side you take.”

“This isn’t about _sides_ – captain...” The Doctor shook the radio. “Captain! Oh, my word.”

“What are we going to do?” Yam asked.

“Aye, what about Ben an’ Polly?” Jamie put in. “An’ the TARDIS? How are we gonnae get back tae them now?”

“We’ll carry on as we are,” the Doctor said firmly. “And we’ll hope we can explain the situation to her in person.” One of the panels on the side of the colony ship was beginning to slide open, revealing a great, cavernous space. “There we are. Just guide her inside, Jamie.”

Jamie readjusted his grip on the steering lever, trying to push it smoothly to one side. The pod turned slowly at first, then pitched over, sending them all grasping for handholds. “I’ve got it, I’ve got it,” he said hastily, waving away the Doctor.

“Slowly now,” the Doctor said, rocking back and forth on his heels anxiously. “Bring us down a little Hold us steady – that’s it.” The pod slid to a slightly jerky halt, and the Doctor clapped Jamie on the back. “Excellent.” His hand lingered for a moment too long, but he quickly snatched it away as the pod’s door crept open. “I’d better go out first. Take a look at the lay of the land, you know.”

He trotted off outside, calling a greeting to the captain, and Amna made as if to follow him, but Jamie held his arm out in front of zir. “Best not,” he said quietly. “Sounds like they’re a wee bit on edge out there. Ye dinnae want tae get yourself hurt.”

They waited in tense silence, each straining to catch what the Doctor was saying to Jasmine. Jamie could only barely make out a few words, but he recognised the hint of a threat in the Doctor’s tone, and wondered how Jasmine could argue against him, even with the guards on her side. When the Doctor eventually raised his voice, he jumped, exchanging a startled glance with his four companions.

“Why don’t you come out and meet everyone?” the Doctor was saying. “They’re quite harmless,” he added loudly. “You’ve just had something of a misunderstanding, that’s all.”

Jamie crept out of the pod, easing his way along the steep ramp leading down to the ground. He was met with a row of raised guns, and lifted his hands into the air. The fear on their faces told him that they would shoot at the first sign of a threat, and he motioned for the others to join him slowly. As one, the guards readjusted their grips on their weapons, watching Yam make their way out of the ship, and Jamie stood carefully in front of them as if he could block their towering bulk from view.

“It’s alright,” he said. “They’re no’ here tae hurt ye.”

Jasmine looked the new arrivals up and down, not seeming at all phased by their alien appearance. Her gaze was calculating, almost predatory, and Jamie knew she was trying to figure out their weakest point. “Why did you try to take our fuel?”

“We were just borrowing it,” Klej explained. “We would’ve paid you back.”

“We wouldn’t have,” Alva muttered, but xey were quickly silenced by xeir siblings.

“Any loss of fuel could have seriously jeopardised our mission.” Jasmine grabbed a set of handcuffs from a nearby guard and stepped towards Amna, who held out zir hands, seeming entirely unworried. “I’m placing you under arrest. And I’ll be informing the galactic police of your actions.”

At the mention of the police, Amna started to pull away, squawking agitatedly to zir siblings. Jasmine made a grab for zir arm, but zey toddled away, sending a ripple of uncertainty through the guards. A wave of guns followed zir movement, and Jasmine froze, her mouth half-open as if caught in the middle of ordering them to fire. Amna struggled on towards the pod, still seeming to ignore the danger zey were in, and one by one, zir siblings began to follow. Jamie reached out to them, trying to hold them still, but they pulled away from him, and he knew he was not strong enough to resist.

The stunned silence was broken by the zing of a laser gun firing. Everyone in the room ducked away from the shot as one, leaving a guard standing alone, staring down at his gun in surprise and horror. The shock of it had caused the rest of the guards to break ranks, and they milled around confusedly, murmuring to each other. Jasmine was glancing around at them in disbelief, and for a moment Jamie was sure she would shout an order to execute them all -

“Stop!”

Ben and Polly burst through the doors, pushing past the guards to stand beside the Doctor and Jamie. Confetti was caught in their hair, and paper flowers were ringed around their wrists and ankles, a lone bright point amongst the bare room and the austere uniforms of the guards.

“You can’t imprison them,” Polly said breathlessly.

“And why not?” Jasmine demanded.

“The celebrations have started,” Ben explained. “The colonists decided to start them a bit early, ‘cause they’d already been woken up. And now it’s illegal to arrest anyone until you’ve landed on the planet.”

Jasmine gaped at them. “But that’s days away!”

“Indeed.” The Doctor patted Ben on the shoulder, beaming at him and Polly. “Quite enough time to grow fond of our friends here.” Jasmine glanced between him and the Thysimillarians, confliction written across her face. “This is a colony ship, not an invasion of this galactic quadrant, you know. You don’t have to prove yourself by arresting them.”

“They could have ruined the whole mission,” Jasmine protested, but her voice was soft, the conviction draining away.

“But they didn’t,” the Doctor said. The Thysimillarians were hovering awkwardly by the pod, still clustered together anxiously, but the guards were throwing down their guns, and a few were even breaking ranks to make for the door. “It’s up to you. But think about how you’d like to be remembered, hm?” Jasmine hesitated for a moment longer, then threw aside the handcuffs. They clattered to the floor beside a pile of discarded guns, and the Doctor’s lips quirked into a small smile. “Thank you. Now, I suppose we’re all invited to the party, hm?” He reached behind him to grasp Jamie’s wrist, leading him out of the docking bay to leave Jasmine standing alone, lost in thought.

“What’s gonnae happen tae them?” Jamie asked as they headed along the corridor. “The Thysimillarians, I mean.” He glanced over his shoulder towards them. Klej was already dancing with one of the guards, and the other three were smiling and skipping along as if the people around them had not been pointing guns at them only a few minutes earlier.

“Oh, I expect they’ll end up back home eventually. I doubt that Jasmine will turn them in now.”The queue of guards was filtering in through a door marked ‘RECREATION ROOM’ in large, bright letters, and the Doctor caught it as it swung closed, gesturing for Jamie to go through. “Here we are.”

The sight that greeted them was almost dizzyingly colourful. Banners and streamers were strung from every available surface, and the furniture had been pushed to the corners of the room to clear space for people to dance. They whirled around impossibly fast, dancing to no music other than their own voices and the stamping of their feet and the clapping of a few onlookers. Someone began humming a tune, and others quickly took it up, passing it between them as they danced past each other.

The Doctor stepped to one side to clear the doorway, leaning against the wall. “You know, I’ve only just remembered something about the Thysimillarians.” Someone skipped past him, draping a string of paper flowers over his head as they went. He laughed, tugging at it a little before carrying on. “They’re one of the early Earth-empire’s most important trading partners. Food, machinery, terraforming tools – they’ll trade in almost anything.” He narrowed his eyes in thought, watching Yam hold out their hand to Jasmine, who hesitated for a moment before taking it and being whirled off into a strange kind of tap-dance. “I wonder if this is where it starts.”

“Ye mean -” Jamie frowned at him. “We just made history?”

“Well, there’s a distinct possibility. Of course, perhaps we _didn’t_ , and our friends will go home without any sort of lasting impact. Or perhaps things would have turned out this way without our interference. History is more robust than people think, you know.” The Doctor tapped one finger against his mouth. “I suppose we’ll never find out now.”

“Aye, I suppose we won’t.” Jamie bit his lip, closing his eyes and drawing in a long, deep breath to gather his resolve. Opening his eyes again, he held out one hand to the Doctor. “Would ye like tae dance with me?”

Surprise and delight blossomed across the Doctor’s face, but he quickly tried to hide it. “Oh – oh, well – I don’t think that would be such a good idea.”

“Are ye sure? ’Cause I thought ye – well, ye seemed like ye might want to.”

The Doctor looked up at him almost bashfully, his face filled with something that looked strangely like shyness. “I’ve never been very good at dancing.”

“I’m no’ asking ye tae be good at it, I’m just asking if you’d like tae dance with me.”

The Doctor glanced around them, watching the other dancers for a moment, then slipped his hand into Jamie’s. “I most certainly would. But – I’m rather afraid I don’t know this one.”

Squeezing his hand more tightly, Jamie grinned back at him. “That’s alright. Neither do I.”


End file.
